July 2009 Recap
- We celebrated our one year anniversary! In a display of determination, I picked up our one-year anniversary cake from the bakery (after dealing with their inept workers), drove it home in its non-fitting box, then hand-carried it on my walk to the airport and hand-carried it on the plane to the bay area. In another display of determination, Susan stayed married to me for a year. Our anniversary dinner was at the Farmhouse Inn. It was fancy and good.
- I’m adding Top Chef Masters to the list of things that I totally expected to hate but ended up enjoying immensely. I thought that removing the purely competitive aspect of the show (I know they’re competing for charity, but still) and changing the judging personnel would be too much to handle, but I was wrong. I underestimated how much I would enjoy seeing such accomplished professionals at work. It’s one thing to enjoy seeing 10 novice chefs try to make something using only one hand, but it’s entirely different watching 4 pro chefs make something good using only one hand. The former is a matter of seeing who’s competent and who’s not. The latter is seeing who can maximize. And if there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love seeing things get maximized.
- July included two trips to Vegas that were completely different from one another. One trip included nice accomodations, poolside time, fine dining at Robuchon and Charlie Palmer and very little gambling. The second trip included barebones accomodations, bowling, two nights of buffets (sushi buffet+Bellagio buffet), and a lot of craps table time. I truly love Vegas. I can’t say enough about it.
- I just bought the People Magazine issue with the Saved by the Bell cast on the cover. After seeing Zack Morris’s ingenious appearance on Fallon, I had to get this. The issue was a little bit of a letdown. What’s killer is how similar a lot of the cast looks (especially Zack and Slater). The highlight of the issue for me, which wasn’t even part of the issue, was the comment on Justjared where the person commented on the Screech-less group pic by saying “i miss the ugly boy.”
- I started a Facebook/Linkedin “friend drive” the other day. The results weren’t inspiring, numbers-wise, but that wasn’t a surprise. It’s weird if you request someone and the friend request is pending for a long time. I know the friend might not have seen the request, but it’s almost like they’re wondering if you’re good enough. And you can’t retract the request, can you? That’s like saying “oh yeah, I don’t need you anyway.” I’m saying this while fully aware that most people don’t have this problem.
- I bought some Izze sodas the other day. I really enjoy them but I’m hesitant to buy more because they’re expensive. I have realized that beer is more expensive than Izze and, I’d probably enjoy an Izze more often than I’d enjoy a beer, so why not buy more Izze? They need more high-end non-alcoholic beverages that aren’t energy drinks. Having flown Southwest business select a few times recently, I’ve refrained from cashing in on my complimentary alcoholic beverage because of what I’ve had to do when I land (like drive a car or do some work). If they sold some really nice juices or teas, I’d be all over that.
- I’ve been working like crazy this month in preparation for a trial. I’m not sure if I should be in this line of work because I’m so competitive. If we succeed, then it’s all good, but right now, I;m being driven by imagining what it will be like to lose - having to turn to the client who just realized his business is over, looking across to see opposing counsel celebrating a victory, knowing that all of your work was for nothing…I might need to retire soon.